FEMA deadline for filing claims for unemployment assistance July 1

Six Missouri counties -- Bollinger, Dunklin, Pemiscot, Phelps, Reynolds and St. Francois -- have been added to the state's disaster declaration, according to the state's Department of Labor. The declaration allows individuals affected by the recent natural disasters to access the 26-week Disaster Unemployment Assistance program. Applicants from those counties must file a claim no later than July 1. Other counties that have already been declared as disaster areas include Butler, Mississippi, New Madrid, St. Louis, Taney and have until June 16 to file a claim. Cape Girardeau, Howell, Jasper, McDonald, Newton, Pulaski, Ripley, Scott, Stoddard and Stone have until June 22. Eligibility for assistance will be determined on a week-to-week basis and people can only receive benefits for as long as unemployment continues as a result of the disaster. No applications will be accepted after the deadlines, the department said, unless for a "good cause."